A Cold Wind
by orange-tide
Summary: Ryan Atwood thought that nothing else could get to him. They had been through it all. But then there's something he wasnt suspecting.
1. Prologue

**This is a new story I wrote, while watching something else. I suppose if I tell you what that was, then you'll know. Please read and review! If you confused at a point at all, I promise it makes sense in the end.**

_It's a hot stuffy courtroom. Even though it's September, it feels like the peak of July. People have made fans out of spare paper in their pockets and purses._

_Marissa Cooper sits next to her lawyer, Sanford Cohen, as the jurors file back in. She is not yet eighteen, but she is being tried as an adult. Attempted Homicide of Trey Atwood. It will haunt her forever, whether she is found guilty or not, but all she hopes is that she can get through the next few minutes._

_Julie Cooper sits behind her daughter, and the wooden fence. She is squeezing her ex-husband's, James Cooper's, hand. Fearful of losing everything, she huddles closer to Jimmy. He wraps an arm around her, and takes a quick glance at his second daughter, Kaitlin, then to Julie, and back to Marissa. It lingers there only for a moment before looking to the three jurors sitting down._

_Sanford Cohen looks over at his client, his ex-neighbor, his son's girlfriend, and closes his eyes for a second. He prays for the girl, terrified of the ramifications if they lost. His whole universe was already cracking. He doesn't need more. He has tried his hardest, but now it is all left to Juror Number One, a thirty-something homemaker, to read the verdict._

_Kirsten Cohen looks at nothing but the back of her husband. Sober now for a month and a half, she feels the need for a drink. She resists it, and holds the hands of her two boys for support._

_Ryan Atwood has lost all feelings. He looks from his brother to the jurors to his girlfriend. His head has been aching all day, and a light flutter comes over his eyes. For a second he cannot see and begins to panic more. But just as it is there, it is gone. And he goes back to looking at his brother, the jurors and finally back to Marissa._

_Summer Roberts begins to get antsy. The tension has gotten to her. Her best friend could go to jail, and she's worried about her hair frizzing out. No doubt that Marissa and the trial is the foremost thing in her mind, but she feels bad to think about something so trivial as hair. Her whole friendship with Marissa flashes in front of her, and a tear escapes her eye._

_Seth Cohen feels lost. His girlfriend and mother are both falling apart. He can feel it through their hands. Summer's slightly shakes, while his mother squeezes for reassurance. He wants it to be over. Go back to the beginning. When everything was sane. He, Ryan, and Marissa were best friends. Summer didn't know him. He never ran away. His mother wasn't an alcoholic. Trey never returned._ _Marissa never shot Trey._

_Marissa Cooper feels like screaming. The pressure is too intense. The last juror sits down. The judge says something. She nor Ryan understand it._

_The juror rises._

_Marissa Cooper prays._

_Julie and James Cooper bow their heads._

_Sanford Cohen holds his breath._

_Kirsten Cohen does the same._

_Ryan Atwood stares forward._

_Summer Roberts falls apart in Seth's shoulder._

_Seth Cohen consoles her._

_The prosecution and defense rise._

_Marissa Cooper can barely stand up._

_Trey Atwood smirks._

_Sanford Cohen takes a quick glance at Kirsten._

_She understands._

_Juror Number One reads:_

"_We, the jury, find the defendant, Marissa Cooper, _**not guilty.**_"_

**I hope you liked that, that's just the prologue. Please read and review, I enjoy them. I will try to update my other stories sometime...**


	2. Amidst The Norm

**Wow, thank you so much for your reviews. They mean the world to me. So many, for such a small bit of writing. This is also small, and not very into things, but it gives you a feel of where the story is at. Enjoy!**

Ryan Atwood was about to fall asleep when his girlfriend came in. His head was pounding all day. He took aspirin, but he swore it made worse.

"Hey," Marissa kissed him, and Ryan got up. It was nearing the end of October, a month and a half since the trial.

"Hey," Ryan could barely focus. But headaches were normal.

"So, it's Friday. Do you want to go out? We could hang out with Seth and Summer, or just the two of us. What d'ya say?" Marissa, for once, felt happy with life. Granted, the shooting of Trey was haunting her every day, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be.

"Um, I have a really bad headache, so maybe after I sleep..." Ryan felt a little stupid saying that.

"Oh, okay. Sure. You take a nap, and I'll go be a third wheel to Seth and Summer. I'm pretty good at that. And then, we'll hang out later," Marissa stood up again.

"Thank you," Ryan stood up and kissed her.

She stared at him for a moment and smiled, saying, "no problem," before leaving.

Marissa headed into the house and luckily found Seth and Summer playing video games. She really did not want to bother them upstairs in Seth's room.

"Hey guys," she sat next to her best friend.

"Hey Coop. Where's Ryan?" Summer asked. Neither Seth nor Summer looked over, for they were in the middle of a heated game.

"Headache," Marissa answered dully.

"That sucks," Summer said absent-mindedly.

"Summer!" Seth screamed.

"What!" Summer yelled back.

"You just chopped off my head!" he complained and Marissa stifled a laugh.

"Whoops. Sorry Cohen," Summer apologized and looked over at Marissa. "So, what are you and Ryan thinking of doing tonight?"

"I don't know. We didn't get to talk a whole lot," Marissa replied.

"Well, we could see a movie. I don't know what's playing, but there's bound to be something good out," Summer gave up on the game.

"Yeah, I don't know. I'll have to talk to Ryan then," Marissa missed when they all went to the same school. It was so easy to plan things. Now, Marissa and Summer found themselves at the Cohens every Friday night, being one of the only nights they all hung out.

"You wanna play?" Summer held the game controller out to her friend.

"Sure," Marissa gladly took the controller and played the game with Seth until, she too, had chopped off Seth's head.

**Please read and review, because it's so fun seeing the reviews and what you think of the story. And also to TeacherTam, when I said three jurors, I meant there were only three jurors sitting down so far, and the other nine were filing in. But enjoy this update!**


	3. Suspicion

**Sorry it took so long to update, here is a longer chapter, and kinda jumpy, but oh well. The drama will begin soon. Don't worry, I have a lot of stuff for this.**

Ryan woke up about three hours later. It was getting dark when he walked into the Cohens' living room. Marissa and Summer sat bored on the couch with Seth huddled on the far end.

"Hey," he sat next to Marissa.

"Hey," she kissed him happily. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Ryan lied. His headache wasn't gone, but it felt a little better.

"Good," Marissa smiled.

"So what did I miss?" Ryan glanced over at Seth, who was asleep.

"Well, both me and Sum beat Seth at video games, and he got majorly pissed about that, and then he fell asleep. So now we're looking for something to watch," Marissa answered as she leaned on her boyfriend.

"Only use 'we' if you're gonna help, Coop," Summer commented as she went through the guide on the t.v.

"Sorry. Why don't we watch...um...The Valley?" Marissa helped finally.

"Checked. It's not on, and they don't have any repeats of it on their Now Playing list. Mostly it's like Dr. Phil, and Judge Hatchet. I guess we'll have to watch Sherman Oaks," Summer replied and put on the Valley knock off.

"Anyways...what do you wanna do tonight?" Marissa, her head resting on Ryan's chest, looked up at him.

"I don't care...whatever," Ryan was trying to concentrate through his headache.

"Well, do you wanna see a movie, or maybe go to the Bait Shop?" Marissa tried to get more out of Ryan.

"Not the Bait Shop," Ryan was hurting too much from his headache.

"O-kay. Well, it's almost Halloween, so there's probably a good slasher flick," Marissa said. This was pretty much how Fridays went. None of them could decide on anything.

"I love slasher flicks," Summer interrupted, "of course, Cohen'll be scared out of his wits. Remind me to take my camera phone."

"Sure, Sum. So, um, wake up Seth so he can check times," Marissa replied.

"Cohen, get up," Summer nudged Seth. Nothing. "Cohen!" she screamed, but Seth still slept. "Someone's stealing Captain Oats."

Seth shot up, and everybody, including Ryan, began to laugh at him.

"Oats?" Seth asked drowsily and then noticed the rest of the Fab Four. "What?"

"Never mind Cohen. Go check movie times for some slasher movies," Summer instructed.

"Fine," Seth reluctantly got up as Summer, Marissa, and Ryan tried to stop laughing.

"Ah, it feels like old times," Marissa commented as she got closer to Ryan.

* * *

Kirsten was washing the dishes when Seth and Ryan walked in from the movie. They had dropped off Summer, and Marissa was pulling out of the driveway.

"How was the movie?" Kirsten asked her two sons. She felt like things were back on track. She had been sober now for six months.

"Fine," Ryan answered.

"Scary! Oh my gosh, there was this scene where the guys like, has to choose between living or killing his girlfriend or brother..." Seth rambled.

"I don't want to be spoiled," Kirsten interrupted. She didn't have the stomach for scary movies.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna go off to bed and try to sleep. Not sure how well that's gonna go..." Seth slowly began to leave.

"Good night Seth," Kirsten yelled after her son.

"Um, Kirsten?" Ryan started.

"Yeah?" Kirsten answered.

"Do you have any more aspirin?" Ryan didn't want to ask, but the headache was still bad.

"Don't you have any?" Kirsten asked as she washed.

"Uh, I used it all up," Ryan replied.

"How many have you been taking?" Kirsten was worried Ryan might be abusing the aspirin.

"Two," Ryan said.

"How often have you been having headaches?" Kirsten investigated.

"I don't know, like every two days," Ryan knew this didn't sound good. Kirsten was shocked. That wasn't normal.

Reluctantly, she got the aspirin out of the cabinet and handed it to Ryan.

"I'm gonna schedule you an appointment at the doctor's. they might have something better to get rid of your headaches," Kirsten watched then as Ryan left. She knew she shouldn't be worried, but she just was.

* * *

The lunch bell rang on Monday morning. Ryan met up with up Seth and Summer, who were making out in the hall.

Ryan cleared his throat and they broke apart and headed to the cafeteria.

"So, Ryan, what's up with you? You've been quiet," Seth acknowledged Ryan's nervousness. His mind was stuck on the doctor's appointment. He never went to the doctor's. The last time was, unfortunately, when he collapsed after Trey was shot.

"Um, Cohen? No offense here, but Ryan's _always_ quiet," Summer joked.

"Hmm...that is true. So what's up man?" Seth looked over at Ryan.

"Nothing...just thinking," Ryan answered and they went to get food.

Ryan didn't eat much, his head throbbed again. He worried about the appointment. He didn't quite like doctors. In fact, he hated them. They made him sick. Every time he went with Theresa to the doctor's, he almost threw up.

"Hey Summer, you wanna hang out with me and Ryan tonight? A little PlayStation, possibly?" Seth proposed.

"Uh, actually Seth..." Ryan interrupted.

"What?" Seth didn't know about the doctor.

"I can't make it. Your mom's picking me up after school," Ryan said shyly.

"What for?" Seth was a little shocked.

"Just a doctor's visit," Ryan shuddered just saying it.

"Best of luck man," Seth told Ryan, and looked over at Summer, who was answering her phone.

"It's Coop..." Summer said. "Hey Coop. What's up?"

Ryan stopped paying attention at this point. His head hurt and he began to tthink about when he was little. If he got hit hard enough, he'd have to go to the hospital, where no one ever cared. His mother didn't have a lot of money, so they got the cheapest fix they could afford.

He did not want to go.

**Sorry this was very jumpy, but the drama hasn't quite started, so I believe next chapter, you'll be satisfied. Please comment!**


	4. A Doctor's Visit

**Today I was in an updating mood, so here is the third chapter. Enjoy!**

Kirsten sat in her car near the school entrance. The last bell had rung, and everyone had begun to run out. She could see Ryan exiting the school alone, looking somewhat dimmer than the rest. Everyone smiled and had this color about them, but Ryan didn't.

"How was school?" she started a conversation after Ryan got in.

"Fine," he dully answered as Kirsten headed out.

She didn't push any farther. She knew Ryan was still dealing with Trey's shooting, Marissa's transfer, and Kirsten's rehab. There was a rift between them. Sure, it was getting smaller, but it'd never be like it was.

Newport Memorial wasn't that far off. Both had been there on two many occasions. Unfortunately, there had always been someone in there. Luke, Marissa, Caleb, Trey. Ryan and Kirsten both themselves. They never seemed to escape it.

Parking spaces were limited, and as Kirsten searched for a spot, Ryan tried to quell his fears. Memories were coming back. His mother, Trey, Marissa. He was ready to bolt.

"Are you nervous?" Kirsten asked her second son as they walked up to the hospital.

"Not really," Ryan lied as they stepped in, and a cold wind hit them. He lingered back as Kirsten found where they had to go. It was on the third floor, and they just barely got into the elevator.

The waiting room was quiet, and only one person sat there. Kirsten again took the lead and then sat next to Ryan. They were about ten minutes early.

Ryan never took his eyes off the clock, and watched as the seconds and minutes went by, bringing him closer to the appointment.

"Ryan Atwood?" he snapped out of it as a nurse stood at the door, waiting for him. Kirsten followed him and the nurse down the hall, which took him off guard. Usually, Dawn would sit in the waiting room, trying to steal as many magazines as she could.

The two were led to a room with an examining table, and two chairs along with the usual things. Ryan refused to sit up on the table then. He sat next to Kirsten.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Thomas," a woman appeared, about mid-thirties in age, with light brown hair pulled back in a rather tight bun. She looked at her clip board. "You must be Ryan," he nodded and she looked at Kirsten. "And you are?"

"Uh, Kirsten Cohen, Ryan's legal guardian," Kirsten replied. It was hard not to say 'mother.'

"Ah, I see that. So, what seems to be the problem today?" Dr. Thomas sat down.

"Well, Ryan has been getting a lot of headaches lately," Kirsten answered.

"How often have you been getting headaches, Ryan?" Dr. Thomas asked.

"About every other day," Ryan reluctantly replied.

"Do you have one now?"

"Yeah," Ryan answered and was then instructed to sit on the examining table. Dr. Thomas preformed the usual: blood pressure, heart beat, checking of eyes, throat, ears.

"Um, right now I'd like Ryan to get a CAT scan done. It's quite routine, I just want to get more information," Dr. Thomas concluded.

Ryan did not like the sound of that. The doctor led him away and he gave Kirsten a quick glance. She saw his fear.

Dr. Thomas was one of the best neurologists at Newport Memorial; _the_ best, depending on who you talked to. She assured Ryan he was in good hands as he laid down. She also had to make sure he wasn't claustrophobic.

Ryan was wary. He had never had any of this done. His mother always got the cheapest diagnosis possible. How much did it cost? Could he let the Cohens pay for it? Ever since Trey had returned, he had a slight uncomfortableness with the Cohens.

Kirsten was there when it was done, and the two waited again in the same room for the results. Ryan couldn't help by get more and more nervous as the minutes went by. Had they found something?

Finally, Dr. Thomas returned, and Ryan straightened his back. He was incredibly nervous now.

"Well, I have the scans and I do see something, but I can't tell right now what it is. It could be a computer malfunction, or something else, but I'd like to schedule Ryan an MRI tomorrow to get some solid information. In the mean time, I would advise not to take any aspirin, only if it's too hard to handle," Dr. Thomas didn't look at them.

"What do you think it is now?" Kirsten asked.

"Uh, I'd like to get more information on it. You can schedule the MRI outside, and I'll see you tomorrow," Dr. Thomas answered. They all stood up, and Ryan and Kirsten began to leave. "Mrs. Cohen?"

Kirsten stopped and came back, as Ryan stood outside the door.

"Is it possible for your husband to also come in?" Dr. Thomas wondered.

"Uh, sure. Why?" Kirsten was confused by the question.

"I'd just like both of you to be here," Dr. Thomas answered and Kirsten left to schedule the MRI with Ryan, who had heard it all, and knew that they _had_ found something.

* * *

Sandy had just walked in the house as Kirsten began to unpack the take out. Ryan and Seth sat in the living room. Seth flipped channels as his brother stared blankly ahead.

"Hey," Kirsten greeted her husband as he kissed her on the cheek. "How was work?"

"Oh fine. I got a new client, who wants to sue her brother for Defamation of Character because he had the government investigate her," Sandy answered.

"Yikes. Sounds...dysfunctional," Kirsten commented.

"How did the doctor's go?" Sandy assisted Kirsten in preparing dinner.

"Well, they want Ryan to get an MRI tomorrow," Kirsten didn't want to let off that she was worried.

"Did they find something?" Sandy took a glimpse over at their sons.

"Well, she didn't say, but she wants both of us to be there tomorrow," Kirsten felt like if something happened, they'd lose all the ground they had fought for.

"What time is it at?" Sandy asked.

"Three o'clock," Kirsten was happy with the way things were going. Everyone was happy. They didn't need another problem.

"I don't think I can make it," he had a meeting with a client at 2:50.

"Well, it takes a while for the MRI. Do you think you can make it by four?" Kirsten looked up at her husband.

"Yes, I can do that," he kissed her, and smiled. "Boys! Dinner's ready!"

Seth and Ryan walked in, and they all sat down to dinner. Ryan didn't say anything. He knew they found something. If they hadn't, they would've told him. Of course, it could've been a computer screw-up. But the doctor wanted both Sandy and Kirsten to be there. Why? It had to have been more than a computer malfunction.

Kirsten looked over at Ryan, and thought the same thing.

**I hope you enjoyed, and I love reading your comments on what you think is going on...some of you are on the right track. Please read and review.**


	5. Mortality

1**So, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I don't know how exactly to explain it. I've been so busy with school, but I did indeed update. Sorry guys.**

"Now, this is going to take a while. About an hour or so. But you have to stay as still as you can," the nurse informed Ryan as he laid down.

Kirsten waited outside patiently. Well, not that patiently. She was nervous as hell. She wanted Sandy to be there. What if they did find something? What would they do?

All Ryan could see was white. All he could hear was a clicking. It didn't stop, and drove him insane. For once, he wanted someone to talk to. How in the world was he supposed to stay completely still for an hour?

His mind slowly began to drift to Trey. He hadn't seen his brother in almost a month. Last Ryan heard of him was that he was going to Vegas to find Jess, a.k.a. "Dead Girl in the pool."

Ryan couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. What did Dr. Thomas see? He supposed he'd figure out later. Was it serious? A computer screw-up? Ryan prayed there was nothing wrong.

At 3:37, Sandy walked in. Kirsten was going insane in the waiting room. Ryan was going insane during his MRI. Sandy was going insane at work, worrying about Kirsten and Ryan. All were going to lose it if that MRI didn't end soon.

Kirsten hugged Sandy and fell into him. They still had twenty minutes. Kristen could shake off her bad feeling. She wanted to see Ryan. She wanted to hear everything was all right.

"How was Ryan?" Sandy asked. He had to leave early, so he didn't get to see his boys.

"Fine...quiet, as usual," Kirsten replied.

"Oh. So, how are you?" Sandy always was worried about his wife.

"Okay. A little nervous," Kirsten lied to him and herself.

"Don't be. Ryan'll be fine. The computer just screwed up," Sandy reassured her.

"Yeah, you're right. Nothing's wrong," Kirsten tried to feel a little better. Not a lot of help though.

Ryan had lost track of time. All he knew was that he wanted it to end soon. This was too long. He could keep staring at the same thing for much longer. It was driving him insane. He wanted to scream. His arm was falling asleep. He wanted out.

Thankfully, it ended soon. His mind was thinking about a million things. The results. Marissa. The results. Trey. The results. The Cohens. The results. He wanted to know what they found.

The nurse smiled at him as he sat up before leaving. It was just after four, and he had to wait another half an hour for the results. At least he could move.

Sandy and Kirsten sat waiting for him. He approached them as he normally would, with caution, but he really was so glad they were there. He was worried he'd have to deal with this alone.

Of course, even with any amount of people around him, he always dealt with it alone. That was just the way he was brought up. Don't bother anyone with your problems.

Dr. Thomas appeared and led them to a room, then went to retrieve Ryan's MRI scans. She returned, and they all braced themselves.

"Did you find anything?" Kirsten asked, the anticipation getting to her.

Dr. Thomas took a quick second, which felt like an hour, to compose herself before replying, "yes."

Ryan immediately felt sick to his stomach. They had found something. He had been right.

"It seems Ryan has an AVM," Dr. Thomas began to put the scans of Ryan's head up so they could see it.

"What is that?" Sandy took over questions. He knew his wife couldn't.

"Arterio-Venous Malformation. An abnormal collection of blood vessels. It's an area that lacks capillaries, which connect the oxygenated blood in arteries to the de-oxygenated blood in veins," Dr. Thomas explained, pointing to the area.

Ryan stared at it, every second losing more of himself. What did it all mean? Was he going to die? Could he die from it?

"How did he get it?" Sandy asked, not even being able to look at his wife's face.

"That cause is pretty unknown. What we know is that it appears to be caused by a rupture of blood vessels during the embryonic or fetal stage, or even right after birth. It's not hereditary, communicable, it's a slight mystery, but we know how to deal with it," Dr. Thomas answered.

"How do we...is there a prescription to get rid of it?" Sandy was the only one talking to the doctor.

"There are a few medications that I can give to Ryan to alleviate the headaches, or even seizures. Um, Ryan, have you ever had a seizure?" Dr. Thomas replied.

"No," Ryan lied. He didn't look up. He remembered too long ago having one. He thought it was just odd. He never even thought about that. It hadn't meant anything. But in actuality, it had meant something.

"Good. Um, there are three ways of getting rid of the AVM. First, there's embolization, which seals the abnormal blood vessels with a glue-like substance. Then there's radiation, which destroys the blood vessels with high intensity radiation. And the last is a surgical removal of the AVM.

"Pretty much, we have to take the AVMs case by case. Right now, I wouldn't suggest embolization. But before you make a decision, I'd like to run a few more tests, MRIs, angiograms, and the like."

Sandy nodded as he listened. Kirsten sat there stunned. Ryan finally spoke.

"Is it fatal?"

Dr. Thomas was a little taken aback by Ryan's question, but not at all surprised.

"Uh, yes and no. A small percent of all AVMs hemorrhage. And even if it does, it might not even be too noticeable, so it goes undetected. But massive bleedings have occurred. Ryan, if you ever have a sudden, severe headache, difficulty speaking or understanding someone, numbness, vision loss, severe unsteadiness, I want you to get in here right away.

"The chance of a bleed is unlikely and AVMs aren't very common. But Ryan is quite young, most people go their whole lives not knowing. It's just that the faster we get it done, the better we'll all be."

Ryan was gone. He could die. He was only seventeen. Sure, he had thought of killing himself in previous years, but he was with the Cohens. He was supposed to be safe. Not possibly dying because of a brain hemorrhage.

"So, I'll prescribe the medication, and I'd like to get Ryan in for another MRI next week. We'll go from there," Dr. Thomas concluded. Ryan stopped paying attention. All he remembered was shaking hands with the doctor and following Kirsten and Sandy out.

What was going to happen? Surgery? Radiation? He'd have to tell Marissa. And Seth, and Summer. His parents probably. Trey.

He could die. Of course anyone can die at any minute, but he had so much more of a chance. Any second his brain could just start bleeding and he could die.

Mortality was never more real.

**So, sorry if this was short, I will try to update more, but I can't make any promises. Please read and review, I love to hear your thoughts.**


End file.
